On the Internet, content-sharing platforms, like social networks and others, allow users to connect to and share information with each other. Many social networks include a content-sharing aspect that allows users to upload, view, and share content, such as video content, image content, audio content, and so on (which may be collectively referred to as “media items” or “content items”). Such media items may include professionally produced audio clips, movie clips, TV clips, and music videos, as well as amateur content such as video blogging, short original videos, pictures, photos, audio recordings, other multimedia content, etc. Users may use computing devices (such as smart phones, cellular phones, laptop computers, desktop computers, netbooks, and tablet computers) to access the content-sharing platforms to use, play, and/or consume media items (e.g., watch digital videos, and/or listen to digital music).
In some instances, a user may upload or otherwise share a media item that the user may not be authorized to distribute. For example, a user may upload a copyrighted video or a copyrighted song without being authorized by the copyright holder of the video or song. In such an example, the rights holder may request that the content-sharing platform, and/or the user who uploaded the media item, be removed from the content-sharing platform by sending a “takedown” notice. The rights holder may request that the unauthorized media content be taken down for many reasons: the unauthorized media item may not generate compensation for its rightful owner on the particular content-sharing platform, the unauthorized media item may be of a lower quality than is acceptable to the rights holder, the unauthorized media item may not properly attribute the underlying work or works, etc. While the removal of unauthorized material from the content-sharing platform may be required by law after a compliant notice, it can upset the user who posted the unauthorized media item and leave dead links and/or unsightly notices that the content was removed in response to a takedown notice.